Gresham’s 'accidental' neighborhood advocate

(GRESHAM) — A somewhat new resident of the Kelly Creek Neighborhood on the east side of Gresham, where homes were built atop former nursery land, found herself thrust into a position of leadership.

Carol Rulla began getting involved in 2005, at a time when meetings were still announced via mailed postcards. While homeschooling her kids, she became interested in the various developments around her.

“I went to a couple of meetings, met the neighborhood leadership and volunteered to get more people to attend,” she said. “Suddenly, I was in charge of the meetings and elected as president.”

Rulla would go on to lead the Kelly Creek Neighborhood for three years before moving to serve as the land-use officer, a role she still holds today. But she wasn’t done there.

She again made an impact in 2006 during a land-use training meeting for the Coalition of Gresham Neighborhood Associations.

“I had all these questions because I was brand new, and we had these key developments happening,” Rulla said.

So, not one to be shy, she fired off question after question. By the time it came to nominating leadership, she was elected vice president as the “Woman in the corner with all those questions.” A year later, she was voted president.

“I’ve always seen the benefit in being involved,” Rulla said. “We have gotten changes through that have made things better for all of the community. Locally is where you make the most difference.”

Rulla is still active in the Kelly Creek Neighborhood and is co-president of the coalition alongside Jim Buck.

“I’ve always thought of myself as the accidental president,” she added with a laugh.

Rulla is one of the Gresham area’s 2024 Amazing Neighbors because she has spent decades uplifting, informing and advocating for Gresham’s neighborhoods. It hasn’t just been a willingness to spare a cup of sugar — though she probably would if you asked — but her dedication to wading into the murky, complicated world of land use rules and city code to help everyone in the community have a voice.

Oh, and always asking those questions.

“Thank you. I appreciate that someone knows a little about what I do,” Rulla said. “I don’t do it for any recognition but because I am a part of this community. I am privileged that my life was set up in a way that I could be so involved, and I hope to set up other people.”

It was the rain and street grids that ultimately led her to Gresham.

Rulla’s husband, Jim, had been born and raised in the deserts of Texas, so he desperately needed some rain and cooler temperatures — a plan Rulla was in concert with. So they moved to Oregon in 2000, with Jim taking a job at Pacific University.

But being in Forest Grove wasn’t quite right. They began looking around the region and, on a recommendation, ventured into Gresham.

“Everyone on the west side warned us, but we came out here and really liked it,” Rulla said. “I loved the street grid out here — no confusing one-ways or everything being funneled into a single route.”

Sustainability was also important — they wanted a place with plenty of trees and the capacity to add things like solar panels. They found a home in the Kelly Creek Neighborhood and moved in. It was the perfect fit, despite being a bit of a fixer-upper. It met all their needs while also having a large yard to stoke their passion for gardening and growing vegetables (they are Backyard Habitat-certified).

“We fell in love with this nice community — the downtown is quaint, and we are fortunate to be able to travel,” she said.

For Rulla, the importance of the associations and coalition is amplifying the voices of those involved.

“They give you a link to the city and help you get answers,” she said. “You can officially advocate to city leadership, hold meetings and vote, and have a bit more clout.”

One of her early projects was spurring a better early neighborhood notification system, leaving less wriggle room for developers to drop a significant project without input from those most likely affected. An early success story was apartments planned for the corner of Welch Road and Orient Drive. Nearly 60 people showed up to the meeting, warning the developer how bad the spot was for the project, ultimately convincing them to find a new location.

“Those kinds of meetings and successes are not just good for the neighborhood but also the developers who don’t want to waste their time and money,” Rulla said.

Rulla was active in creating a Gresham Parks Concept Plan for the city's undeveloped parks, showing the value it could provide. Often, folks would have an idea for a small development or fundraiser/grant but were stymied because of the lack of a roadmap.

Another project she is involved with is the Gresham Repair Café, which perfectly scratches her sustainability itch. The city of Gresham created the program after seeing the success of a similar community-focused outing in Portland. The Coalition was asked to be co-sponsors of the event, which has volunteer fixers repairing items.

She has improved city code by pointing out potential loopholes through ambiguous language, hosted candidate forums through the coalition, supported National Night Out gatherings, advocated for sidewalk infill, and so much more.

Rulla wants to prevent others from having to start from square one like she did. The hardest part of those early years was trying to understand the technicalities baked into code. There are many obscure rules, spaces for rivaling interpretations, and processes that can leave even the most municipally minded heads spinning.

“I learned early on how powerful we could be together,” Rulla said. “Problems in one neighborhood are often happening in many others.”

“You get to meet your neighbors — all these cool people with the skills they bring to the community,” she added. “Work together, learn about the challenges, and how you can help.”